Gotttrii



Au.14,1 923. Re. 15,674

v a. c. LAWSOR rm; wnnilcn I ori i al Filed May 10, 1920 q. c. LAWS 0N INVENTOR.

HISATTORNEYS Aug; 1 45:1923.

t- UNIT-EDS T MES.

eorrr un Lawson, or CLEVELAND, Porno;v

213E wnENcn.

ori inal Io. 1,36%014,

T 0 all whom'it may co rwem:

.a citizen of ithe'United States, residing at Cleveland, in thecounty of Cuyahoga and State of O hio,S have: invented certain new and "useful Improvements in Pipe \Vrenches, of which the following .is a specification.

This invention relates to' wrenches, and

particularly'to pipe wrenches of the adjust able {jaw t pe; theouter jaw beingvadjustable and t e inner 'jaw' beingrigid'or integrill with the handle.

" The object of the invention is to provide an Iimproved wrench in which the outer jaw will have a free rocking movement to take hold of and releasethepipe; a fulcrum beprovided in the head of the wrench 0n 1n 'wEi'ch' the adjustablejawrocks, this ful I -crum beinglocated in particular relation to the de th of the jawsin order to get a good i hold on a large sized pipe and to release freely without binding when the'pressure of the :handle'is released.

' Theaxis of the handle is placed in a par:v ticular and convenientangle to the axis of the jaws, in order'to provide for most effccg Y tiveope'ration inv narrowspa'ces; A further ohjectiof the invention is to provide improved means'for holding-the adjusting nut in desiredposition, so that the adjustment of the outer jaw .will not change during use.

,Various other features of improvement will he appare'nt from the followingdescription.

f "Inf the accompanyin drawings .Figure I is fiaplan of the wrenc 1. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a crossrsection on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 a detail of if a s ring.f

. j -lerring':specificallyto the drawings, 6 indicates the handle :ofthe wrench, terminated at its? front end ina head 7 provided with; a fixed-jaw 8 which is presented at a slight inclinationto a perpendicular from the axis of'the handle, so that the vtwoaja ws will'have an; angle of about 115, .to said .j axis, as it, has; been found that thisangle is a -most convenient one for operat ng the wrench, and'gives a wider range of; us inca smallerzjslpace than other angles. @The head is-slotted' lengthwise to receive the shank 9 of'thef'outenadjustable ja'w10, the axis of said shank being perpendicular to the face front-and rear edges, and these racks are engaged byaring nut 12 set crosslre-" dated DecemhenM, 1920, ser al a... 380,101, filed May 10, Iorrei ss ue flled'December 13,- 1922. Serial No. 606,737.

adjustment when desired.

1920." Application cess. o-r slot 13 in'the head. A flat spring. l t'bears' against the edge of the shank near. the lI1IIeI",:6I1Cl thereof and normally holds the jaw i'naopen position. v Within the ring nut 12, ateach side of theshank 9 is" a C-spring :15, the back of; whichbears against the inner surface of the nut. and, the ends which ,bear against the sides of theshank, theseends being bent inwardly as'shown at 16. The pressure of these springs between the parts by which they are confined is sufficient to prevent'accidental movement of the nut, and permitsi the nut tov he .turned for The shapeof the slot through the head is peculiar, and is ofimportance. Atits front 1 end the slot is flared or 'widened as indicated at 1-7,.in the plane of .the, jaws, and at its rear end it is also widened, as indicated at 18, in the same plane The widened part 17 at the front endis located at the-"front side opposite or rearside of .the handle, and the surface 19, opposite the widenedpart- 11;

of the handle,- or the sidetoward thejaws, I i while the widened part 18' is located on. the

and the surface 20, opposite the widened part 18', are substantially parallel to each other, or at very slight angle to eachother.

Similarly surfaces 17 and 18 are substan" tially parallel or at a verv slight an e to each other. This structure inv connection h he cross slot 13. produces a fulcrum point or shoulder at 21 011 which the nut rocks. ,The cross slot 13 in which the nut works, tapers in aplane parallel to the plane of the jaws;;i. e'., this slotv is'some what [wider at the back side of the wrench than ;at the front whereby the nut ,canzrock while retaining, flhowever its. contactfiw-ith the front wall of theslot 13, lt willlbe noted that the cross-slot -13 extends-beyond the front side of the handle beyond the rear near the extreme front .end thereof for- Thisv iconstructionfihas been: found ,mos't "end SKQf the. fixed jaw. 8 and that nut 12- ,pivotally engages the front wall of slot 13" advantageous .for; the. operation of the wrench; particularly when extended to}. full size. There is no,1ooseness. permitting th constricted portion of the, longitudinal slot,'

rock on the fulcrum to take holdofand re- W e ch t n arg i ra te inst si c 1 v I the shank has close fitting engagementin the of said jaw; The shank has racks 11 at its I but still. the nut and the adjustableaw can on the shoulder 21 as a fulcrum. WVhen the pressure is released theflat spring 14 rocks theadjustable jaw the other way and quickly releases the grip. Spring 14 thus cooperates withthe constrictionof the longitudinal slot to maintain the nut 12 in engagement with the'frontwallofslot- 13 at all times, the

close fitting engagement of the slot preventing rearward shifting oflthe shank andof the nut in slot 13 and-the spring pressing the nut into contact with the front wall: of the slot 13. The function of the C-springs 15 in holding the nut at adjustment has been previously referred'to.

The invention is not limited to the exact form shown, but modifications may be made Within the scope of the following'claims.

I claim: a I x 1. A wrench having'a slotted fixed jaw and handle, an adjustable jaw having a rack shank in said slot,='a ring nutfengaging the rack of theshank, anda pair of C-spr1ngs confined in the nut and bearing at their ends against opposite sides of the shank respectively. I

'2. A wrench having a slotted fixedjaw and handle, an adjustable jaw having a rack shank in said slot,'a ring nut engaging'the rack of the shank, and a pair of C-springs confined in the nut andbearing at their ends against opposite sides of the shank respectively, the backs of *the springs bearing against the-inside of then'ut' and the ends' otli' the springs being bent inwardly where they bear against the shank. v

,3; A wrench comm-Hing a handle having a 'gri portionand a projection extending latera 1y from'on'eend thereof, a "surface constituting a fixed jaw formed on the said projection and inclined at an obtuse angle to the 'longitudinal axis of the grip portion, the handle having a lengthwise slot extending transversely thereof bet-ween 'the 'g'rip portion and the fixed jaw at an angle of less than about 30 to the longitudinaljakis'of "thegrip portion, the said slot beingconstricted lntermediate itsends byjhavin'g pairs of inwardly converging sidewalls lying in the plane f the fixed j aw,,each wall of one pair of sa idl side Wallssubstantially para l I I- with -the oppositely wall of the otherpair of side walls, the handleha'ving a Q cross slot intersecting the said lengthwise slot and extending therebeyondi on the side adjacent the said fixed jaw, the forward wall of the said cross slot diverging uniformly with respect to the rearward wall fromits end adjacent the .fixed jaw to the remote end thereof, a movable jaw comprising a jaw sur-face and a rack bearing shank atsubstanshankto separa te;the said jaws and press the nut into the aforesaid pivotal engagement with the forward Wall of ,thecross slot,

4. A wrench having a handle provided with intersecting. longitudinal -and ,cross slots, a .grip portion and .a' fixed jaw; ,the longitudinal slot extending transversely of the handle between-thegrip portion and fixed jawbeing interiorly COIlStIlCtGClallCl formed with-pairs of inwardly converging- SldB-WallS, one wallofleachrpalr being substantially parallel with the oppositelydisposed wall of the other pair-10f walls; the

cross slot having itsfront-wall extending in the front side of the handlebeyond the-#rear end of the fixed jaw, a movable jaw wi'th a rack bearing shank having-close :fitt-ing engagement inthe constriction of the longi'tu dinal slot, a nut on the shank and-in the cross slot, and spring means cooperating with the constriction of the longitudinal slotto maintain pivotal contact of the nut on the front wall of the crossslot forwarldljyiofathe rear end of thefixed jaw. 1 I

5 A wrench" comprising a fixed jaw ryinghandle having intersecting longitudinal and cross slots, the longitudinal slot being constricted intermediate its' endspthe cross, slot extending toward the front side of the handle beyond the rear-endof the-fixed jaw; a movable jaw "w=ith a" rack bearing shank having close fitting engagement in the constriction of the longitudinal slot';-a nut'in the cross sloton' the shank, and spring means engaging'the said shank and. cooper ating with the constriction stale. longitudi nal slot to "maintain pivotal contact fo'fthe nut on the frontwall of crisscross; slotfor- V Wardly of the rearend of the fixed jaw. r In testimony-whereof -I do aflixgmylsignat re h reto.

car- 

